Pages

Take Me Away

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

No, not another post about how I'd rather be traveling, although I did discover that a decent compact washer/dryer combo for the cabin would cost less than a plane ticket to Australia, the next bullet point on my "to travel" list. (This puts me in a serious quandary about the future of my summer savings.)

And no, I'm not having washing machine amnesia. I'm still well aware of how awfulcompact washer/dryer combos can be. I've spent enough time in the British Isles to be well acquainted with the half-day long dry cycles with your clothes locked inside the washing drum that these little (lovely) machines can present you with. However, I have no issue with turning the cabin into a Chinese laundry if necessary. Maybe I should just get a washing machine . . .

But I digress.

What I meant to write about when I sat down this morning was the need to escape, even in the slightest, most figurative way. It's this time of year, when I get asked 30 times a day if I "ever see any wildlife around here," that I want to spend my evenings somewhere far, far away. Some place where I don't have to explain why you can't take pontoon boats into the Boundary Waters. Some place where moose spotting isn't some sort of competitive sport.

Not that the moose aren't impressive.

But I'd rather be bickering about whether or not you should let the hot water boil when brewing a pot of tea than reasons why the moose population is on decline. It's the time of year, where you'll find a Phillipa Gregory novel on the coffee table and plenty of British costume dramas clogging the Netflix queue. Forget hard hitting documentaries, fluffy puppy season is upon us. I just want a not-too complicated plot to transport me into a completely different world each evening.

I once talked to someone about my tendency to overlook nonfiction as "good reads." It's not that I never read nonfiction (although a memoir seems to exist in some funny half world between fiction and nonfiction) but in general, a biography or some other factual read aren't what I want to curl up with at the end of the day. "I think it's just not enough of an escape," the person I was talking with said of nonfiction, and it's true. Most of the time, I'd rather be in some made-up place, watching fictional characters deal with universal problems.

Downton Abbey arrived yesterday (albeit, a day late . . . ahem Netflix!) and I plan on immersing myself in upper crust British life circa early 20th century this evening. Something tells me I wouldn't have enjoyed this kind of life very much if I actually had to live it, but I sure don't mind visiting it nightly.

Happy Solstice all! Any big plans for celebrating the longest day of the year? How do you escape?

I definitely escape through television (including Netflix!), or games. I read, but unlike you I find pleasure in non-fiction books. Not so much biographical books, but "how-to" books, self help, regional etc. All really nerdy stuff when I sit back and think about it, lol

I am the same way, which is why I watch the same movies over and over again. I know what it coming, I don't have to be anxious about the characters, I can just relax and enjoy. So I watch Firefly episodes on repeat, or Jane Eyre or Practical Magic.

I go through phases in my reading depending on what level of busyness my life is currently at. So for instance, when life is hectic (which is about 90% of the time,) I too just LOVE to escape into "someone else's world." Their story-line, their plot, their antagonist... my mental vacation. :)

And when I am having a pretty easy go of things? I get a renewed, insatiable thirst for knowledge and attack all my neglected non-fictions with a vengeance. I'm like Amber, reading lots of how-to's, self helps, etc.

And I guess I must admit I even read them when things are hectic, a lot of the time. I just like to read, period. :D

It's kind of ironic that the place most people want to escape to is exactly where you live and since you live there, you'd rather escape elsewhere, lol. Have fun with your netflix! Hope it takes you away :0

As you know, I'm immersed in that memoir grey area right now and boy, do I need a break! We're being taken over by the summer residents in Maine too. I so look forward to summer but, at times, I could do without the invasion of entitled tourists.

You're a true trailie/local! I just read the Gunflint Lodge post and raised an eyebrow when [Bruce's Wife, whose name I'm forgetting] said that she looks forward to the summer solstice because it means that the early evenings are drawing closer! Now that I've moved away I am completely in LOVE with "Walden;" something that didn't appeal to me while I was living more of that life.

I've definitely been into period movies lately, and while most of them are REALLY good movies, they can be SO depressing. You know? I used to think that it would be so charming to live in that era, especially if I was part of elite society, but there was so much ridiculousness at that level of society too. I'm definitely glad that I live where and when I do, but I certainly love immersing myself into a little fantasy every now and then.

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.

-- Alan Alda

About Me!Writer, knitter, runner. I live on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota.